Missouri facts

The state of Missouri was named after a tribe of Sioux Indians of the state called the Missouris. The word "Missouri" means "wooden canoe people" or "he of the big canoe."

Facts about Missouri state

Most neighbors

Missouri borders eight other US States, more than any other state except Tennessee, which also borders eight states. Missouri shares land border with (Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska)

Missouri facts

1904 Olympics

St. Louis, Missouri hosted the the first Olympic Games ever held outside of Europe. Chicago, Illinois originally won the bid to host the 1904 Olympics, but the organizers of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis began to plan for its own sports activities, threatening to eclipse the Olympic Games unless they were moved to St. Louis. Pierre de Coubertin gave in and moved the games to St. Louis. Milwaukee Athletic Club won gold medal in Men's tug of war.

Facts about Missouri state

Gateway to the West

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is the tallest man-made national monument in the United States. It is 630 feet wide at its base and stands 630 feet tall. Visitors ride a tram to the observation room at the top. During a nationwide competition in 1947-48, architect Eero Saarinen's inspired design for a 630-foot stainless steel arch was chosen as a perfect monument to the spirit of the western pioneers. Completed on October 28, 1965, it sways up to one inch in a 20 mph wind, and is built to sway up to 18 inches.

Missouri facts

Deadliest tornado

Missouri is home to the most destructive tornado in U.S. history. The Tri-State tornado, which set down on March 18, 1925, killed 695 people, injured 2027 people, and demolished an estimated 15,000 homes throughout Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. Annapolis, Missouri, was 90 percent destroyed

Missouri facts

The Cave State

Missouri is nicknamed 'The Cave State' because it has more than 6,000 known caves. Richland, Missouri, is the only city in the United States with a cave restaurant.

Missouri facts

Ice cream cone

At the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904, the ice cream cone was invented. An ice cream vendor ran out of cups and asked a waffle vendor to help by rolling up waffles to hold ice cream. Also introduced at the fair were cotton candy, iced tea, and Dr Pepper.

Missouri facts

Parachute jump

The first successful parachute jump from a moving plane was made above the Jefferson Barracks military post, near St. Louis, on March 1, 1912. U.S. Army Captain Albert Berry climbed to 1,500 feet in a Benoist aircraft and jumped.

Missouri facts

Missouri to the rescue

In the 1870s, Missouri’s Norton grape vines virtually saved the French wine industry. When the French vineyards suffered an infestation of phylloxera insects, millions of cuttings of Missouri’s Norton rootstock (that are immune to the insect were shipped to France and grafted onto French vines, saving the French wine industry from disaster. A monument in Montpelier, France, commemorates this rescue.

Missouri facts

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman was the only Missouri-born person to become the President of the United States. His middle initial, S, did not stand for any name but was given as a compromise between the names of his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young.

Missouri facts

Quake of the century

The most powerful earthquake to strike the United States occurred in 1811, centered in New Madrid. It shook more than one million square miles and was felt 1,000 miles away.

Missouri facts

Capitol

The present Capitol completed in 1917 and occupied the following year is the third Capitol in Jefferson City and the sixth in Missouri history. The first seat of state government was housed in the Mansion House, Third and Vine Streets, St. Louis; the second was in the Missouri Hotel, Maine and Morgan Streets, also in St. Louis. St. Charles was designated as temporary capital of the state in 1821 and remained the seat of government until 1826 when Jefferson City became the permanent capital city.

Missouri state facts

Sinews of Peace (Iron Curtain Speech)

On March 5, 1946, Sir Winston Churchill visited Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, as the Green Lecturer and delivered "Sinews of Peace," a message heard round the world and went down in history as the "Iron Curtain Speech."

Missouri facts

STL

Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL) is the largest and busiest airport Missouri. It is named after Albert Bond Lambert, the golfer who was part of the American team which won the silver medal in golf in the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St. Louis

Interesting Missouri facts

Which was the first European settlement west of the Mississippi River?

Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, founded in 1735 by French Canadian colonists, was the first organized European settlement west of the Mississippi River.

Facts about Missouri state

First kindergarten

America's first public kindergarten was founded in September 1873 by Susan Blow in the St. Louis neighborhood of Carondelet.

Missouri facts

Gateway to the West

Independence, Missouri was the starting point for the Oregon Trail. St. Joseph, Missouri was the starting point of the Pony Express and Franklin, Missouri was the beginning point for the Santa Fe commerce wagon route.

Facts about Missouri state

Homecoming

The University of Missouri originated the now-universal tradition of Homecoming in 1911.

Missouri facts

Home of Budweiser

The Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis is the largest beer producing plant in the United States. It makes Budweiser, the best selling beer brand in the world.

Missouri facts

The Spirit of St. Louis

Charles Lindbergh’s flight from Long Island to Paris May 20-21, 1927, took 33 and one half hours to complete and was the first nonstop solo transatlantic flight in history. Named The Spirit of St. Louis in recognition of the St. Louis, Missouri, businessmen who funded its construction, Lindbergh’s single-engine plane had a 46-foot wingspan and weighed 2,150 pounds when empty.

Missouri facts

Fountains

Kansas City, Missouri has more fountains than any city in the world except Rome.

Missouri facts

Live Music Show Capital

Branson is the number one tour-bus destination in the United States. Known as the "Live Music Show Capital of the World," Branson offers more than 50 live performance theaters.

Missouri facts

Big Spring

Big Spring, located in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways system, is the nation's largest single-outlet spring; one of the largest in the world. On average, it gushes 278 million gallons a day; with a maximum daily flow of 846 million gallons.

Missouri facts

Scenic Riverway

The Ozark National Scenic Riverways, in southeast Missouri, was the nation's first federally designated scenic riverways system. It preserves sections of the Current River and the Jacks Fork River.